20 Women Writers Share "What Three Words Of Advice Would You Give To A Writer?" At AWP 2015 Minneapolis

Sometimes you need to read an entire craft book to figure out this whole writing game, but other times, all you need to know can be condensed into a simple phrase. Kill your darlings. Write what you know. In fact, much of the world’s most iconic writing advice takes place in five beats or fewer. Make it new. Show up. Follow your bliss. (Wait, scratch that last one, it's the green juice talking.)

I strolled around the infamous AWP 2015 Minneapolis Book Fair, where literary publications from The Paris Review to the tiniest of independent presses were represented, and asked writers and editors what they'd say to a curious writer looking for guidance — with the caveat that it had to be three words. No more, no less. I noticed a few themes: consistency, bravery, focus, and that strange and self-deprecating sense of humor unique to the writing class.

It’s not easy condensing everything you want to say to your fellow wordsmiths into three words written on a dry-erase board, but hey, that’s what writers do.